Business briefs, April 1

DURHAM – Foreclosure rates in the Durham-Chapel Hill area fell in January compared with the same period last year, according to data from the information, analytics and services provider CoreLogic.

The rate of foreclosures among outstanding mortgage loans in the area was 0.76 percent in January, down 0.66 percentage points from January 2013. The mortgage delinquency rate also declined, and foreclosure activity in the area was lower than the national rate.

DURHAM – Durham-based Triangle Orthopaedic Associates has a new affiliation with the Cary-based weight-loss surgery practice Bariatric Specialists of North Carolina.

Christopher Shireman, chief operating officer for Bariatric Specialists of North Carolina, said the practice’s ownership is not changing, and the practice will still have the autonomy to make expansion, marketing and other decisions.

But he said that by aligning with Triangle Orthopedic Associates and using the larger practice’s tax identification, they expect to see increased buying power for expenses and to be able to negotiate better-paying contracts with insurers.

“A lot of groups (are) aligning with hospitals, but (we) didn’t feel that was a good choice,” Shireman said. “Triangle Orthopaedics approached us; they were looking to expand their model, (and were) looking for groups that have some synergy with orthopedics.”

Bariatric Specialists of North Carolina has 42 employees, with offices in Burlington and in Cary, an outreach program in Benson, two Envision Nutricenters, an outpatient lab and The Macgregor Sleep Center.

Triangle Orthopaedics has more than 500 employees, according to Shireman. It has 17 locations in the Triangle region, according to a news release, including seven urgent care clinics, more than 45 physicians, six MRI locations and physical therapy facilities.

NephroGenex reports wider net loss in 2013

DURHAM – NephroGenex Inc., a Durham-based company working on kidney disease treatments that recently made its debut on the stock market, reported a net loss of $6.3 million for 2013.

That’s compared to a net loss of $2.9 million in the prior year. In 2013, the company was impacted by a $3.4 million expense from a change in value of preferred stock warrants. Research and development expenses were $1.5 million, and general and administrative expenses were about $1 million.

In February, the company raised more than $37 million from an initial public offering of stock. The company planned to use proceeds from the stock sale for clinical development of its oral treatment for kidney disease in people with type 2 diabetes.

The company got a Special Protocol Assessments agreement from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for phase 3 development of the oral treatment that executives believe will reduce the time and cost of a Phase 3 trial.

Oxygen Biotherapeutics gets confirmation of removal of Oxyctye hold

MORRISVILLE -- Oxygen Biotherapeutics Inc. announced Monday that it has written U.S. Food and Drug Administration confirmation that a clinical hold has been removed on development of its treatment for traumatic brain injury, decompression sickness and stroke.

The company is looking to develop the treatment, called Oxycyte, to better deliver oxygen to tissues in the body to aid in healing.

The company has acquired the rights to develop a cardiovascular drug in North America. The company is seeking to have the drug approved to reduce mortality in heart surgery patients at risk for developing low cardiac output syndrome.

Last month, the company raised about $55 million in secondary offering of stock to further its clinical trials and efforts to obtain approval for the cardiovascular drug and for Oxycyte.

Biogen Idec hemophilia B treatment to be made in RTP

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- Biogen Idec got U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval for a new hemophilia B treatment that will be manufactured in the Research Triangle Park.

Steven Goldsmith, a spokesman for the company, said the FDA decision on Alprolix also included approval for the company to make the drug in RTP.